Floatable slip-resistant shoe



Aug. 7, 1956 E. B. CARTMELL FLOATABLE SLIPRESISTANT SHOE Filed July 50, 1954 INVENTOR. 5064/? 6. CA/PTMEZZ ATT mgr United StatesPatent O 2,750,461 FLOATABLE SLIP-RESISTANT SHOE Edgar B. Cartmell, Bethany, Conm, assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 30, 1954, Serial No. 446,735 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-25) tire shoe, and the shoes are made slip-resistant by slitting the tread surface of the soles. To provide the shoes with the floatable characteristic, the soles are made of closed cell, flexible soft resilient plastic material, which is nonwater absorbent. Such material has good wear resistant qualities, and has the further surface.

The closed cell non-water absorbent material has improved slip resistant qualities as compared to non-cellular rubbery materials heretofore used in soles, and when cellular rubbery material.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention are further described in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of the bottom and side of the shoe and showing the slitted tread surface of the outsole;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the shoe on line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of the tread surface of the outsole enclosed within the square formed by the dot and dash lines in Fig.

Referring to the drawings, the shoe embodying this invention comprises an outsole 11, which is secured to an upper 12 by any conventional means. As illustrated herein, the upper 12 may be made of canvas and lasted over an insole 13, to which the usual filler material 14 is applied, and the outsole 11 is bonded to the bottom of such upper with a suitable cement in the conventional manner.

to form closed cell cellular material. The sole 11 and heel piece 15 may be molded in one piece, or the tread parts may be cut from molded sheet material and cemented together.

After the outsole 11 has been formed and before it is applied to the shoe, the tread surface thereof is provided with transverse saw-tooth slits 16. Such slits are made by cuts, or incisions made into the rubber to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch and spaced from p and curing agents.

each other in the heel to toe direction a distance of about of an inch. The incisions may be made into the tread surface as described in United States Patent No. 2,284,307 to Paul A. Sperry, granted May 26, 1942. The walls of the slits remain closed when the sole is not stressed and prevent the entry of dirt or foreign matter, but such slits open up under the pressure of the footv on a slippery Wet boat deck. The exposed corners of the open slits Wipes the wet surface dry as a squeegee and prevents slippage. may be made from suitable plastic compositions containing rubbery materials, and blowing The following composition is given as an example:

Composition Ingredients In processing the above composition all of the ingredients excepting the Cellogen and sulphur are mixed on a Banbury machine. The Banbury mix is then put on a calender and mixed with the Cellogen and sulphur. The stock is calendered to the required thickness to make a sole of the desired thickness after expansion. For example to make a sole having a thickness of .750 inch,

terial has the resistance required for sole material, al-

While the preferred form of this invention has been described herein more or less in detail, it is to be undersuch changes in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I ciaim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A shoe comprising a woven textile fabric upper and a sole having as a whole a specific gravity less than Water, said sole being composed of flexible, cellular, nonwater absorbent plastic material having a closed gas filled cell structure and a specific gravity of from .30 to .90,

and said sole having a thiekness of at least one-half inch nd tread surface pr ided with closely spaced trans: versely extending slits.

2. A shoe comprising a Woven textile fabric upper and sole having as a whole a specific gravity less than water and a h kness. of at leas one-half inch, id l in composed of flexible, cellular, non-water absorbent plas: tic materiel haying a closed gas filled cell structure and a specific gravity of from .30 to .90, and said sole having a slip-resistant tread surface provided with transversely extending slits spaced from each other in the heel to toe direction about of an inch and cut to a depth of about /5 of an inch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A SHOE COMPRISING A WOVEN TEXTILE FABRIC UPPER AND A SOLE HAVING AS A WHOLE A SPECIFIC GRAVITY LESS THAN WATER, SAID SOLE BEING COMPOSED OF FLEXIBLE, CELLULAR, NONWATER ABSORBENT PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A CLOSED GAS FILLED CELL STRUCTURE AND A SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FROM 30 TO .90. AND SAID SOLE HAVING A THICKNESS OF AT LEAST ONE-HALF INCH AND A THREAD SURFACE PROVIDED WITH CLOSELY TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING SLITS. 